Helpless
by Cybra
Summary: The Dark Magician could only look on as Arkana's Dark Magician attacked his master...


Helpless  
By Cybra

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A/N: I'm _back!_ Whether you want me or not! ^^ Anyway, this was inspired by the "Master of Magicians" trilogy they showed yesterday. A certain scene stuck out in my mind that just screamed "Make a fic of me!" So I did. ^^ The images Dark Magician sees in his head are all little images I have in my head about Yami's past life (which I might write down at some point).

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Disclaimer: The Dark Magician, Dark Magician Girl, Mystical Elf, _all_ the Duel Monsters, Yami, Yugi, and the rest of the Yu-Gi-Oh! gang belong to someone with much more money than me.

I have never felt so helpless as I do now: chained and forced to watch as Master is hit by the red Dark Magician's attack. As he screams, I know Little Master is feeling the agony, too, only to a lesser degree. Since Master is in control of their body at the moment, he takes the brunt of the hit.

And there's nothing I can do about it.

My heart twists in pain as I listen to him scream and watch his face contort in agony. Yet he still stands despite the pain when most others would've fallen to their knees as best they could when shackled to the side of this dueling ring, even if the fall was only temporary. I watch, horrified, as his body trembles with the pain.

__

'Hold on, Master!' I silently beg, for I have no voice thanks to Kaiba Corp's invention.

Back five thousand years ago I could have called out to Master, I could have shouted encouragement or something because I had a real body back then. When I was summoned, I was as real as the one who summoned me. All of us Duel Monsters were.

Now, I am merely a hologram that can feel pain but not as vividly as before. I have no lungs to take in breath and no vocal chords with which to speak. The Duel Monsters who could grunt or snarl or howl or create some other primitive sound could do so, but I couldn't for I use words to communicate.

As I watch him struggle to remain standing while he continues screaming, my mind flashes to images of the past. Each image seems to last a lifetime, but I know that each lasts only for less than a second:

I see the Queen finally giving birth to a child while she was in the Shadow Realm as the Pharaoh dueled, he having summoned the Mystical Elf not to use in the game but to act as midwife to the Queen.

I see myself gazing upon my future Master as he first opens his eyes and gazes out at what is around him.

I see the Pharaoh decreeing his name be "Yami" so that no one would forget that he was born in the midst of the darkness of the Shadow Realm.

I see Master growing older and showing impressive (and often terrifying) displays of untrained magic.

I see myself taking the young Prince as my apprentice, teaching him all that I knew and delighting in the fact that the student was starting to surpass the teacher in skill and power.

I see Dark Magician Girl and Mystical Elf furthering his education in the areas of magic they knew best and I was weak in.

I see the three of us spending a great deal of time in my home with the Prince as he learned and grew.

I see the other Duel Monsters stopping by for visits to meet with our future Master and simply spend time with him. 

I see Celtic Guardian give Master lessons in fighting and swordsmanship. (I almost smile as I remember Celtic Guardian having to make a special short and light sword for him when it became obvious that Master wasn't going to grow any taller.)

I see myself defending Master when the Pharaoh struck him for shouting at him…even if it was to plea for the lives of their people.

I see Master finally being named Archmagus after a terrifying fight with the previous one.

I see Master after that mage's duel: drained of magical energy, magical sores from major spellcasting for an hour all over his body, shaking with pain, and unable to keep even water down for almost a week.

I see myself and the other Duel Monsters barely leaving his side during that time except when the Pharaoh needed us for a duel.

I see Mystical Elf and Magician Girl (as we normally called her for short) comforting him when the pain and suffering seemed to be too much as he recovered from the mage's duel.

I see Master slipping out of the palace _many_ times before (and a few times after) becoming Pharaoh.

I see Master's coronation as Pharaoh a week before he turned thirteen, and his nervous behavior before the ceremony.

I see us Duel Monsters protecting him and walking free throughout the palace after he became Pharaoh for we were his most trusted bodyguards and advisors.

I see Master's duels in the Shadow Realm, putting his faith in us to help him through.

I see Master seal away the Shadow Games, giving the others and me an apologetic look as he does for we would be trapped as well.

I see all of this in a blink of an eye. During this time, I notice the slight apologetic look that the red Dark Magician gives me. He even seems a bit wistful about something.

It takes me a moment to realize that he wishes that he had my life. His master Arkana cares little for him and uses fear to control him. Seeing how much Master trusts me and his kindness towards me must make his heart ache with the knowledge that there is a better life. Maybe he even wishes that his master will lose so he will become part of Master's deck and receive the same trust and kindness Master Yami gives to me and the others. (I can't help but wonder what he would think if he met Little Master Yugi with his more open displays of affection.)

Now I feel twice as helpless. I am helpless to save my master and helpless to save this poor Magician from his fate.

Arkana plays "Ectoplasmic" and drops Master's lifepoints down to seven hundred. One more hit, and Master and Little Master's minds will both go to the Shadow Realm. It's over. I've failed them both.

Wait…

My soul…it's being pulled on…!

It takes me a moment to remember how Ectoplasmic works. If two monsters on the field are the same kind, the magic card affects _both_ monsters! I can save my masters!

__

'Don't mess this up, Magician Girl,' I think towards my female counterpart. _'With the both of us in the graveyard, you'll be practically unstoppable.'_

Willingly, I allow my soul to be separated from my body and block the attack from the soul of the other Dark Magician. Immediately, the both of us are sent to the graveyard.

I stand before the red Dark Magician now.

He sighs, "It matters not that you saved your master. My master has another like me in his deck and a magic card that will allow him to summon the other Dark Magician by sacrificing half of his lifepoints instead of two monsters."

"I don't think we have to worry," I tell him. "Master has a monster in his deck that will stop your…duplicate: Dark Magician Girl."

He looks at me hopelessly. "She will be crushed. She has an attack strength of only two thousand."

"And she gains three hundred more attack points for each Dark Magician in the graveyard," I point out.

His eyes widen, and I begin to see hope sparkle in them. "You and I…We'll give her six hundred attack points?"

"Yes."

He trembles with barely bridled joy. I pity him for having to suffer with such a horrid master. Still, I know that it all rests on if Master can keep enough cards on the field for summoning Dark Magician Girl.

Then he gives _me_ hope. "The magic card will let your master summon her if he loses all his monsters on the field. All he has to do is surrender half of his lifepoints."

I almost start dancing or whooping with joy or something equally embarrassing and unseemly. Master will win! There is no way he can lose!

__

"Dark Magician? Uh…Red Dark Magician? I'm ready to attack and stuff now. I need three hundred points from each of you," Magician Girl calls from the duel outside the graveyard.

The other Dark Magician smiles broadly as he shouts, "Then take them, Dark Magician Girl! Take them!"

We hear her giggle from outside of the duel at him. I shake my head but feel some amusement. Dark Magician Girl hardly ever takes anything seriously unless she was in the middle of a duel or something equally important. She's the perfect balance to my more serious nature.

As I feel Dark Magician Girl take three hundred points from me, I smile. Master will win. The red Dark Magician will be added to Master and Little Master's deck and never have to be forced to fight due to fear.

Best of all, I no longer feel helpless.


End file.
